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Canada Commits to Restoring Pork Access to Argentina

CANADA - The Canadian meat industry has welcomed the commitment to restore access to Argentina for Canadian pork.

The commitment was announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau following a meeting in Buenos Aires with Argentinian President Mauricio Macri.

“A strategic priority of Canada’s export-dependent meat industry is competitive access to everycountry in the world,” said Canadian Meat Council President Troy Warren.

“Per capita pork consumption is increasing in Argentina and the restoration of access to that market willrepresent another concrete step toward the realisation of this longstanding and high priority industry objective,” added Mr Warren.

The final step remaining in the process will be a visit to Canada by Argentinian food safety officials who will conduct an audit of Canada’s meat inspection system. It is anticipated that, when achieved, the restoration of pork access to Argentina could result in exports of high quality Canadian cuts valued at approximately $16 million annually.

Totaling 115 kilograms per capita, Argentina is one of the highest per capita consumers of animal protein in the world. Traditionally, pork (currently 14-15 kilograms per capita) has represented a comparatively limited proportion of animal protein consumption compared to beef and chicken.

Recently, there has been a tendency toward increasing consumption of pork, a trend that the Argentinian Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and the Environment projects will result in a doubling of pork consumption between 2010 and 2020.

Canada’s meat processing industry includes some 400 federally registered establishments, providing safe, high quality protein for Canadian consumers as well as adding jobs and contributing to economic activity in both rural and urban communities across Canada. With annual sales of $24 billion, exports of $5.7 billion, and 65,000 jobs, the Canadian meat industry is the largest component of this country’s food processing sector.